Terms Used In Utah Code 80-2-1005

• Abuse: means :

  (i)

  (A)  nonaccidental harm of a child; (B)  threatened harm of a child; (C)  sexual exploitation; (D)  sexual abuse; or (E)  human trafficking of a child in violation of Section 76-5-308. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Allegation: something that someone says happened. Board: means the Board of Juvenile Court Judges. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Child: means , except as provided in Section 80-2-905, an individual who is under 18 years old. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Child protection team: means a team consisting of: (a)  the child welfare caseworker assigned to the case; (b)  if applicable, the child welfare caseworker who made the decision to remove the child; (c)  a representative of the school or school district where the child attends school; (d)  if applicable, the law enforcement officer who removed the child from the home; (e)  a representative of the appropriate Children's Justice Center, if one is established within the county where the child resides; (f)  if appropriate, and known to the division, a therapist or counselor who is familiar with the child's circumstances; (g)  if appropriate, a representative of law enforcement selected by the chief of police or sheriff in the city or county where the child resides; and (h)  any other individuals determined appropriate and necessary by the team coordinator and chair. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Child-placing agency: means the same as that term is defined in Section 26B-2-101. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed. Department: means the Department of Health and Human Services created in Section 26B-1-201. See Utah Code 80-1-102 dependency: means a child who is without proper care through no fault of the child's parent, guardian, or custodian. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Director: means the director of the division appointed under Section 80-2-202. See Utah Code 80-2-102 Division: means the Division of Child and Family Services created in Section 80-2-201. See Utah Code 80-2-102 Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other. Indian tribe: means the same as that term is defined in 25 U. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Management Information System: means the Management Information System developed by the Division of Child and Family Services under Section 80-2-1001. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Minor: means , except as provided in Sections 80-6-501, 80-6-901, and 80-7-102: (a)  a child; or (b)  an individual: (i)  (A)  who is at least 18 years old and younger than 21 years old; and (B)  for whom the Division of Child and Family Services has been specifically ordered by the juvenile court to provide services because the individual was an abused, neglected, or dependent child or because the individual was adjudicated for an offense; (ii)  (A)  who is at least 18 years old and younger than 25 years old; and (B)  whose case is under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court in accordance with Subsection 78A-6-103(1)(b); or (iii)  (A)  who is at least 18 years old and younger than 21 years old; and (B)  whose case is under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court in accordance with Subsection 78A-6-103(1)(c). See Utah Code 80-1-102 Neglect: means action or inaction causing: (i)  abandonment of a child, except as provided in 5; (ii)  lack of proper parental care of a child by reason of the fault or habits of the parent, guardian, or custodian; (iii)  failure or refusal of a parent, guardian, or custodian to provide proper or necessary subsistence or medical care, or any other care necessary for the child's health, safety, morals, or well-being; (iv)  a child to be at risk of being neglected or abused because another child in the same home is neglected or abused; (v)  abandonment of a child through an unregulated child custody transfer under Section 78B-24-203; or (vi)  educational neglect. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Person: means :Utah Code 68-3-12.5 Protective custody: means the shelter of a child by the Division of Child and Family Services from the time the child is removed from the home until the earlier of: (a)  the day on which the shelter hearing is held under Section 80-3-301; or (b)  the day on which the child is returned home. See Utah Code 80-1-102 State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5 Subject of the report: includes the child who is the alleged victim of the report and the person responsible for the child's care. See Utah Code 80-2-102 Substance abuse: means , except as provided in Section 80-2-603, the misuse or excessive use of alcohol or other drugs or substances. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Supported: means a finding by the Division of Child and Family Services based on the evidence available at the completion of an investigation, and separate consideration of each allegation made or identified during the investigation, that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that abuse, neglect, or dependency occurred. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Unsubstantiated: means a judicial finding that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that abuse, neglect, or dependency occurred. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Unsupported: means a finding by the Division of Child and Family Services at the completion of an investigation, after the day on which the Division of Child and Family Services concludes the alleged abuse, neglect, or dependency is not without merit, that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that abuse, neglect, or dependency occurred. See Utah Code 80-1-102 Without merit: means a finding at the completion of an investigation by the Division of Child and Family Services, or a judicial finding, that the alleged abuse, neglect, or dependency did not occur, or that the alleged perpetrator was not responsible for the abuse, neglect, or dependency. See Utah Code 80-1-102 (a)  a police or law enforcement agency investigating a report of known or suspected abuse or neglect, including members of a child protection team; (b)  a physician who reasonably believes that a child may be the subject of abuse or neglect; (c)  an agency that has responsibility or authority to care for, treat, or supervise a minor who is the subject of a report; (d)  a contract provider that has a written contract with the division to render services to a minor who is the subject of a report; (e)  the subject of the report, the natural parents of the child, and the guardian ad litem; (f)  a court, upon a finding that access to the records may be necessary for the determination of an issue before the court, provided that in a divorce, custody, or related proceeding between private parties, the record alone is: (i)  limited to objective or undisputed facts that were verified at the time of the investigation; and (ii)  devoid of conclusions drawn by the division or any of the division’s workers on the ultimate issue of whether or not an individual’s acts or omissions constituted any level of abuse or neglect of another individual; (g)  an office of the public prosecutor or the public prosecutor’s deputies in performing an official duty; (h)  a person authorized by a Children’s Justice Center, for the purposes described in Section 67-5b-102; (i)  a person engaged in bona fide research, when approved by the director of the division, if the information does not include names and addresses; (j)  the State Board of Education, acting on behalf of itself or on behalf of a local education agency, as defined in Section 63J-5-102, for the purpose of evaluating whether an individual should be permitted to obtain or retain a license as an educator or serve as an employee or volunteer in a school, limited to information with substantiated or supported findings involving an alleged sexual offense, an alleged felony or class A misdemeanor drug offense, or any alleged offense against the person under Title 76, Chapter 5, Offenses Against the Individual, and with the understanding that the office must provide the subject of a report received under Subsection (1)(k) with an opportunity to respond to the report before making a decision concerning licensure or employment; (k)  any individual identified in the report as a perpetrator or possible perpetrator of abuse or neglect, after being advised of the screening prohibition in Subsection (2); (l)  a person filing a petition for a child protective order on behalf of a child who is the subject of the report; (m)  a licensed child-placing agency or person who is performing a preplacement adoptive evaluation in accordance with the requirements of Sections 78B-6-128 and 78B-6-130; (n)  an Indian tribe to: (i)  certify or license a foster home; (ii)  render services to a subject of a report; or (iii)  investigate an allegation of abuse, neglect, or dependency; or (o)  the department or a local substance abuse authority, described in Section 17-43-201, for the purpose of providing substance abuse treatment to a pregnant woman or a parent of a newborn child, or the services described in Subsection 26B-5-211(2)(p). (2)  In accordance with Section 80-2-608 and except as provided in Section 80-2-611, the division and a law enforcement agency shall ensure the anonymity of the person who makes the initial report under 6, and any other person involved in the division’s or law enforcement agency’s subsequent investigation of the report. (3)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, excluding Section 80-3-107, but including this chapter, Chapter 2a, Removal and Protective Custody of a Child, and Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, if the division makes a report or other information in the division’s possession available under Subsection (1)(e) to a subject of the report or a parent of a child, the division shall remove from the report or other information only the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of individuals or specific information that could: (a)  identify the referent; (b)  impede a criminal investigation; or (c)  endanger an individual’s safety. (4)  A child-placing agency or person who receives a report from the division under Subsection (1)(m) may provide the report to: (a)  the subject of the report; (b)  a person who is performing a preplacement adoptive evaluation in accordance with Sections 78B-6-128 and 78B-6-130; (c)  to a licensed child-placing agency; or (d)  an attorney seeking to facilitate an adoption. (5)  A member of a child protection team may, before the day on which the child is removed, share case-specific information obtained from the division under this section with other members of the child protection team. (6)  (a)  Except as provided in Subsection (6)(b), in a divorce, custody, or related proceeding between private parties, a court may not receive into evidence a report that: (i)  is provided to the court: (A)  under Subsection (1)(f); or (B)  by a parent of the child after the record is made available to the parent under Subsection (1)(e); (ii)  describes a parent of the child as the alleged perpetrator; and (iii)  is found to be unsubstantiated, unsupported, or without merit. (b)  (i)  After a motion to admit the report described in Subsection (6)(a) is made, the court shall allow sufficient time for all subjects of the record to respond before making a finding on the motion. (ii)  After considering the motion described in Subsection (6)(b)(i), the court may receive the report into evidence upon a finding on the record of good cause. (7)  (a)  A person may not: (i)  willfully permit, or aid and abet, the release of data or information in the possession of the division or contained in the Management Information System in violation of this part or 6; or (ii)  if the person is not listed in Subsection (1), request another person to obtain or release a report or other information that the other person obtained under Subsection (1)(k) to screen for potential perpetrators of abuse or neglect. (b)  A person who violates Subsection (7)(a)(i), or violates Subsection (7)(a)(ii) knowing the person’s actions are a violation of Subsection (7)(a)(ii), is guilty of a class C misdemeanor. Amended by Chapter 330, 2023 General Session   Previous section Next section    Part 10 Contents